Kimi Raikkonen ensured Ferrari ended pre-season testing on top of the timesheets by setting the quickest time on the final day in Barcelona.

The Finn posted a 1m17.221s on the Hypersoft tyres, less than two-tenths slower than teammate Sebastian Vettel managed on Thursday, before completing a race simulation as part of a 157-lap total.

Fernando Alonso had a troubled start to his day, stopping at Turn 7 with a turbo problem within the first hour and requiring an engine change.

The Spaniard emerged in the afternoon and would only just fall short of 100 laps setting the second-best time in the final 20 minutes and becoming only the third driver this week to go sub 1m18s.

Carlos Sainz also had a very bad start in the Renault, completing just four laps in the morning before suffering a gearbox problem. Like his compatriot, he would also make up for lost time, doing a short run on the softest compound available in the final hour to jump up to third.

Daniel Ricciardo was having a subdued day for Red Bull, focusing on long runs as his teammate had on Thursday, the Australian would bolt on a set of Supersofts towards the end, however, moving up to fourth.

Haas continued their strong end to testing with Romain Grosjean completing the most laps of any driver, 181, and ending the day fifth overall for the American team.

Mercedes would have a low-key end to the pre-season with Valtteri Bottas taking the team past 1,000 laps over the eight days the only statistic of note. Otherwise, the Finn was sixth with an ominously strong time on the Medium tyre and just over 100 laps to his name.

Teammate and world champion Lewis Hamilton ran in the morning with the 11th best time, the two drivers combined saw the Silver Arrow surpass 200 laps on the day.

Honda would end testing without creating any negative headlines as Brendon Hartley enjoyed another flawless day with 156 laps in P7, just beating Esteban Ocon's Force India by 0.016s.

Charles Leclerc was ninth as the two Williams drivers brought up the representative timesheets with Sergey Sirotkin 10th and Lance Stroll 12th, perhaps not what the British team was hoping for. 

Team boss Franz Tost believes Toro Rosso will end the year ahead of McLaren as the two teams endure vastly different experiences in Formula 1 testing.

For 2018, the junior Red Bull outfit agreed to swap engines with their Woking-based counterparts, taking on the Honda unit which had proven so troublesome with Renault going in the other direction.

So far, however, it has been Toro Rosso and Honda that have racked up the laps with solid pace while McLaren struggle with cooling, electrical and hydraulic problems, the latest being an oil leak which cost them most of Wednesday.

“I don’t care about McLaren but I am convinced that by the end [of the season] we will have a more competitive package than them,” Tost said in Barcelona.

“We are happy with the Honda engine which is doing a fantastic job. Our target is to be in the front part of the midfield and I am sure that during the season we will catch up and we will have a very competitive car."

At McLaren, though, the team insists everything remains under control despite having not completed 100 laps yet over the two days, a figure most are surpassing comfortably in one.

“At the end of the day, we discovered things – yesterday with Stoffel and today with myself,” Fernando Alonso commented. “This is part of testing and hopefully these things won’t happen on Lap 10 in Melbourne.

"In a way, I’m happy to keep making the car stronger and stronger."

The Spaniard claims the only priority now for McLaren would be to complete some race simulations as the rest of the testing checklist has already been ticked off.

"In terms of fundamental answers that we need over the winter test, they are already OK and we have all of them, so I don’t need the last day, to be honest," he claimed.

“I will be in the car, I will drive – hopefully, we will keep discovering new things on the car but if [the first race in] Australia was tomorrow it’s OK.”

Sebastian Vettel shrugged off the significance of his stunning lap time from testing on Thursday, calling on Ferrari to find more performance from the SF71H.

The four-time world champion smashed the unofficial lap record set by Daniel Ricciardo on Wednesday by almost nine-tenths of a second, posting the first ever 1m17s lap of the current Barcelona layout.

Though that caught the attention of many, Vettel insists there is very little to read from his time and improvement is still needed.

“I think it’s the wrong conclusion to look at the time sheet – there’s more too it than a good lap," he said. “I think today the track was quite fast, we also ran a little bit different programme to others.

“We still need to work on the performance and the feeling. We did a lot of laps and that’s important in understanding the car, to know what we need.

“There are some things we still need to get on top of, so it was important to run.”

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One driver who noticed Ferrari's pace was world champion Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes driver hoped Vettel's performance was a sign of things to come.

“I hope it is a good time because it means they are strong and we have a race on our hands,” he told Sky Sports. “I can’t wait for the first race to see where we all come out. We want people to be on the edge of their seats.”

The Briton did issue one note of warning, however, that the Brackley-based team is yet to really push the limit.

“We haven’t been on low fuel yet so l have no idea where the car can go yet,” he claimed.

Mercedes have acknowledged the increased threat posed by Red Bull after Daniel Ricciardo's stunning pace in testing on Wednesday.

The Australian broke the unofficial lap record which had stood for 10 years around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with a 1m18.047s on the Hypersoft tyre, finishing a third of a second clear of Lewis Hamilton, though the world champion's best would be on the slightly harder Ultrasoft.

Offering an assessment of how the top three teams were shaping up, motorsport boss Toto Wolff singled out the Milton Keynes outfit as becoming regular contenders in 2018 rather than only excelling on downforce-orientated circuits.

"What we have seen from Red Bull is that they have a very strong package," the Austrian said to Sky Sports. "I think will be very much in the game for race wins and the championship itself.

"I think it will be all three of us [Ferrari included] against each other."

Asked if Mercedes remained confident of being ahead, Wolff added: "What we have seen is that even if it is the best case we are not in front by a lot, and if it is a worst case we are not far behind.

"Honestly, l am excited by the prospect of a tough battle."

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As for Ricciardo himself, he also sees Red Bull in a more competitive position going into the new season, though still with work to do.

“I think that looking at it now, we are close,” said the 28-year-old.

“I still don’t know where Ferrari are, I’m quite confident Mercedes is probably just in front of us but Ferrari I’m not sure, but I think we’re going to be much closer than last year."

The five-time Grand Prix winner also topped the individual lap count on the second day of the final test in Spain, setting a total even he didn't expect.

“It looks pretty positive for now. Reliability is pretty solid, we had planned for 160/170 laps at the start of the day and I was like, “that’s optimistic”, but we did it," he said, ending with 165.

“Reliability is solid and the car is coming along."

McLaren executive director Zak Brown claimed he knew it was only a "matter of time" before Honda began making progress after their strong performance in Formula 1 testing.

With new team Toro Rosso, not a single engine-related problem has been reported by the Japanese manufacturer with just one day of running left before the Australian GP later this month.

Compare that to former partner McLaren, who have had battery, electrical, hydraulic and cooling problems with the Renault power unit during the second test in Barcelona.

"I think they're doing a good job," Brown told Autosport commenting on the significant improvement Honda appears to have made.

"I know, as you'd expect, there are a lot of comparisons in testing between them and us, but [racing director] Eric [Boullier] and the full team are focused on our programme and very confident we're going to have a good season."

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Over the seven days of running so far, Toro Rosso has remained high on the distance covered list with 666 laps while McLaren at the bottom with just 503, that has led some to wonder if the British team ended their relationship too soon.

Brown isn't surprised, however, stating: "We know they're a great company and it was just a matter of time until they'd see some improvements. They're having a good test and good on them."

Daniel Ricciardo posted a new unofficial lap record around the current layout of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to lead both Mercedes drivers on the second day of the second test.

The Red Bull driver completed a full Grand Prix weekend simulation, posting a 1:18.047s on the Hypersoft tyre in his mock qualifying run late in the morning, surpassing the previous mark set by Felipe Massa in testing in 2008.

In the afternoon, Ricciardo then became the first of two drivers to complete a full race distance, running a 66-lap stint complete with pit-stops as part of a massive total of 165 on the day.

Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas both would set their best time on the Ultrasoft compound rubber, one step harder than the leading Australian, but the world champion would be .353s down in second with his teammate a further tenth-and-a-half back.

The other main story of Wednesday was the ongoing woes at McLaren as, after a strong start with 46 laps on the board, Fernando Alonso would come to a halt at Turn 7 two hours in, causing a red flag.

An oil leak was given as the cause of the failure and the Spaniard would not be seen again until the final 13 minutes of running, he would, however, set the fifth best time.

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Elsewhere, Ferrari ran a split program with Kimi Raikkonen feeling unwell in the morning. Sebastian Vettel would take over for the first four hours, setting the fourth best time before handing over the Finn in the afternoon.

Using the Soft compound the Scuderia's times were some way off their rivals with Vettel one-and-a-half seconds slower than pacesetter Ricciardo.

Brendon Hartley would have a minor problem in the afternoon, otherwise it was another good day for Toro Rosso-Honda as the New Zealander completed 118 laps, setting the fifth best time.

Renault would get through a monster program of their own with their two drivers as, firstly, Carlos Sainz did 88 laps, setting the sixth best time on Medium tyres before Nico Hulkenberg would do a full race simulation in the afternoon as part his overall tally of 102.

The result would be 190 laps for the Enstone team, the most of any team on the day and in direct contrast to the problems their customers, Red Bull and particularly McLaren, have had so far.

Romain Grosjean continued Haas' steady pre-season with a solid 75 laps and the seventh best time, just 0.005s ahead of Raikkonen's Ferrari.

Williams had a productive day with Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin combining for 139 laps but with the Canadian in 10th and the Russian 14th (bottom of the times), the pace still isn't inspiring.

The same can be said of Force India with Esteban Ocon only 12th, though 130 laps was a good return for the Frenchman albeit 30 less than Sauber driver Charles Leclerc as the Monegasque managed 160 tours but only the 13th best time.

Sebastian Vettel laid down a major marker for the rest of the field on the penultimate day of pre-season testing, smashing the fastest lap in his Ferrari.

On a lengthy run using the Hypersoft tyre, the German dipped into the 1m17's on several occasions before ending with a 1m17.182s, over eight-tenths faster than Daniel Ricciardo's best from Wednesday.

The four-time world champion would follow up his qualifying-style run with a full race simulation in the afternoon and ended the day with 185 laps, not too short of three race distances.

Ferrari would be the only top team to use the softer compounds as Mercedes and Red Bull focused on long runs using the Medium and Soft rubber.

Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were only eighth and ninth on the timesheet as a result, with Max Verstappen 12th setting the highest lap total with 187 tours of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in the RB14.

Their absence allowed the midfield teams to feature higher up with Kevin Magnussen second in the Haas with an impressive 1m18.360s on the Supersoft tyre, just 0.013s ahead of Pierre Gasly's Toro Rosso.

The two Renault drivers sat fourth and fifth with Nico Hulkenberg half a tenth clear of Carlos Sainz as one of the closest battles between teammates expected this season lived up to that expectation.

McLaren had a much better day more than doubling their lap total for this week as Stoffel Vandoorne set the sixth best time with 148 laps. It would appear not all was completely smooth, however, as the Belgian driver did lose two hours of running in the morning stuck in the garage.

Marcus Ericsson was seventh for Sauber and also just fell short of 150 laps, all five cars from Gasly in third to Ericsson would set their best on the Hypersoft tyre.

Bottas and Hamilton followed with Robert Kubica's morning run in the Williams seeing the Pole complete the top 10.

Sergio Perez would be 11th in another subdued day for Force India with Lance Stroll's afternoon outing seeing the young Canadian complete the order in 13th as 3.1 seconds (or 1.8 without Vettel) covered the field.

Sergio Perez concedes his Force India team has likely slipped down from their position as the fourth best team based on testing so far.

The Silverstone-based team dominated the midfield battle in 2017, having both cars in the points at 16 of the 20 races as they finished 'best of the rest' by over 100 points from Williams.

However, after only running one day last week and having seen the potential from the likes of Renault, McLaren and Toro Rosso, the Mexican knows there is a lot of work to be done.

"I think we definitely need a good step for the first race and hopefully that will come and we can be competitive from then onwards," he said in Barcelona on Tuesday.

"Right now it's hard to judge where we are, certainly I don't think we are leading the mid-pack at the moment, but I certainly always say it doesn't matter where we start, it's where you are in Abu Dhabi."

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Perez also doubts too much can be read into the times so far in testing, particularly as teams, including Force India, will be bringing upgrades for the start of the season anyway.

"I think what we are experiencing these days is probably irrelevant because once we go to race weekends track temperatures are going to be quite different to what we've had so far," he claimed.

"I'm very hopeful of what we are going to have for Melbourne. It's too early to be disappointed or happy. We have to keep our heads down and work." 

Esteban Ocon has offered a strong assessment of Force India's potential this season, teasingly saying "you will see" when asked on Wednesday.

Like teammate Sergio Perez, the Frenchman has had limited running this pre-season after the poor conditions last week with his outing on Day 2 just his second over the six days so far.

The Silverstone-based outfit hasn't exactly been setting the timing screen ablaze either, with Ocon only 12th of 14 drivers, however, it was the long run pace which left the 21-year-old the most upbeat.

“Today was a good day, plenty of mileage under our belt and long runs look promising, not far off Red Bull I think, so we are quite happy," he said. “I know they [Red Bull] were P1, but you will see.”

His claim does actually counter what his Mexican partner said earlier in the week, with Perez stating Force India was currently not leading the midfield pack as it has the past two seasons. But with 130 laps on the board, Ocon is sure the team is making progress.

“It’s what we needed – a clean day," he said. “We did most of our programme and it will make us move forward in the future. We understood plenty so there’s plenty to analyse but we are quite happy with today.”

The biggest weakness of Mercedes in recent years has potentially carried over into 2018 after both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas struggled with the Pirelli tyres in testing on Tuesday.

With conditions much more representative, as track temperatures exceeded 30 degrees, teams were able to get a better read on the performance of the more aggressive compounds the tyre supplier has produced for this season.

While Sebastian Vettel led for Ferrari with Max Verstappen third in the Red Bull, both on Mediums, Bottas and Hamilton were second and fourth respectively using the Softs which in theory should be faster.

“The Medium tyre was difficult to get working, while the Soft tyre is better for warm-up, but suffered from degradation," the world champion commented.

"We are learning all the time, it's been a good day. We've got through everything we needed and put good mileage on the car – it's been productive.”

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For 2018, Pirelli has moved each compound one step softer with the Medium now last year's Soft and the Soft last year's Supersoft, that could well hurt Mercedes who do traditionally struggle with the softer tyres.

It is possible car set-up played a role with the focus on getting heat into the tyres in the cooler winter temperatures but if it is a trait that continues into the start of the season, it could allow both Ferrari and Red Bull a chance to capitalise.